Experimentation in particle physics - Recent results

The aim of particle physics is to study the ultimate structure of matter. It is therefore a physics of the infinitely small and, from an experimental point of view, a physics of high energies.

The microscopes used in this context are particle gas pedals, which produce beams of several hundred GeV [at LEP (Large Electron Positron), between 1989 and 2000], or even around ten TeV [from 2007 onwards, with the LHC (Large Hadron Collider)], enabling the study of sub-Fermi objects and thus probing, for example, the structure of a proton. However, current acceleration techniques can only increase the energy of an electron by around 20 to 30 MeV over a distance of 1 m. To raise an electron, initially produced at rest, to more than 100 GeV, we need gigantic gas pedals (linear or circular). Particle physics is also the physics of very large instruments (VLTs).

For the whole of this experimental section, the reader should first refer to the dossier , which deals theoretically with "elementary particles and fundamental interactions". Students can also consult the books listed in the references , as well as the websites of CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) and IN2P3 (Institut national de physique nucléaire et physique des particules) to keep abreast of the latest developments and results.